Derek Taylor, Daily Mail Sportswriter, Monday
August 27, 2007
Nitro's 48-33 win at rival Poca
left an indelible impression on Wildcats Coach Scott Tinsley.
"We have to fix some things and we've got to get them fixed in a
hurry," said Tinsley, referring specifically to the more than 300 yards of
rushing his defense yielded to Derek McClure, Caleb Arthur and company.
"We can't be getting ready to get into the schedule in the MSAC
(Mountain State Athletic Conference) and be giving up those kinds of
yards."
McClure rushed for 142 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries in the
Friday night game.
The Dots gained a total of 318 yards on the ground and Nitro had to overcome
four first-half turnovers and a 19-14 deficit at halftime in order to get the
win.
Tinsley thinks the culprit was mostly mechanical.
"I think our biggest problem was we were doing a lot of arm
tackling," he said. "We just weren't getting our shoulder into
anybody and McClure's a strong kid. He'll go right through you if you don't
bring him down."
The Wildcats are idle this week and have some time to fix the problems
before facing George Washington on Sept. 7.
"A lot of coaches will tell you that the time you make the biggest
adjustments and improve the most as a team is after your first game,"
Tinsley said. "Since we've got an off-week this week it'll give us a
little bit of extra time to get changes made where we need to and get it taken
care of."
After a summer that saw much speculation in regard to Tinsley's coaching
future and his ultimate decision to stay at the school rather than taking a
position in the south, he said getting a win to start the season was crucial.
"The big thing for us is that this was the one Double-A team on our
schedule and we had to get out of there with a win," said Tinsley.
"But our community and our area has high expectations
because of the success that we've had in the last decade.
"So, with things the way they've been this year, a loss would have been
a disaster."
The Nitro offense ultimately bailed out its defense. Quarterback Michael
Scott threw for 426 yards and three touchdowns in a 16-for-25 performance. He
was intercepted once.
Scott also rushed for 68 yards and another touchdown, while first-year
player Brett McClanahan had two touchdowns -- one receiving and one rushing --
while All-State receiver Marcos Valentine caught seven passes for 237 yards and
a pair of touchdowns.